Pit bulls bite woman and kill family dog

DURANT, OK -- A pair of pit bulls kill a Durant family's pet, then bite a woman, sending her to the hospital.

Police tell us two pit bulls mauled a chihuahua, and when the owner tried to step in to save him, one of the pit bulls turned on her. Now, she wants the dogs' owners to be held accountable.

Saturday afternoon Rhonda Bates and her small chihuahua were in the backyard.

"My dog was just walking around smelling, doing what dogs do, in our yard," Bates said.

That's when she says her neighbor's two pit bulls got into her backyard through this hole in the fence -- and she heard her dog, Jethro, yelp.

"The male went right down on him. Didn't give him a chance and they're ten times bigger than him," she said.

Bates says her pet was family. So, in a panic she tried to get in between the dogs.

"I saw it and jumped on him, thank God he didn't bit me in the face," Bates said.

She was bit on the leg by the other pit bull.

It hurts so I have to walk around on my tip toes all the time," she said.

Bates went to the hospital to have the bites treated. She says she should be fine, but her chihuahua had to be put down because of his severe injuries.

"He went everywhere with me. I didn't leave the house, he knew when he heard those keys he would come running and most likely I would take him with me," Bates said.

Durant Animal Control has both pit bulls in custody. Police say they are being tested for rabies. The dogs' owner could be cited for animal at large and harboring a vicious animal. But Bates says that's just not enough.

"There needs to be a law set up. People have pit bulls they need to keep them restrained on a chain in their yard. These people have been here months and they just let their dogs run wild. I've got nieces and nephews down here, I mean little ones, I'm glad it happened to me and not one of them," Bates said.

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